High winds bring commuter chaos

Thousands of Tube and mainline rail commuters suffered horrendous journeys home after high winds blew parts of a roof across the tracks.

The District line and c2c rail services were thrown into chaos after the cast iron pieces landed on tracks near East Ham shortly before rush hour.

Throughout the entire evening peak period thousands of commuters across the network were stranded, unable to travel east out of the city. Many others were caught up in knock on delays.

The City line from Fenchurch Street to Shoeburyness, which is used by more than 30,000 commuters a day, was brought to a halt by the obstruction, forcing mainline stations to close. As a result, droves of passengers switched to Liverpool Street and the station had to be temporarily closed to disperse crowds.